It’s the middle of August, which means the NBA calendar has entered its slowest portion of the year. Most of the offseason work is done and teams now await the start of the 2024-25 season.
To kill time, ESPN has published its annual “Summer Forecast” series. The exercise allows its media experts to give their opinions on some of the major storylines for next year.
Among the questions, a first-place vote receives five points, a second-place vote gets three points and a third-place vote gets one.
The Oklahoma City Thunder have been featured in several questions. But one of the more important storylines revolves around who wins MVP this upcoming season.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander has had two straight top-five MVP finishes. He was runner-up last year. It feels like it’s due time for the 26-year-old to capture the prestigious award.
Among the ESPN voters, Gilgeous-Alexander is ranked third among players most likely to win MVP with 37 points. He is behind Luka Doncic and Nikola Jokic.
This is a little surprising to see. Gilgeous-Alexander would serve as a fresh face to win the award and has a strong case if the Thunder repeat as the top seed. He’s been one of the most efficient scorers in the league and that should continue.
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